On 6 November 1834 Stephen Quinn of Whitehaven signed his name to an apprenticeship document. He and his father, Daniel, agreed that Stephen would be apprenticed for three years to be taught the ‘art, trade, mystery or occupation of a Mariner’. The curious aspect of this document is that the person to whom he was bound, and who was responsible for teaching him, was not a master mariner. Indeed the document had to have many changes made to suit the circumstances, as the named person was Hannah Wallace. In each instance where the pre-printed form used the words ‘Master’ or ‘his’ they were crossed out and the words ‘Mistress’ or ‘hers’ were substituted. Hannah is described as ‘acting and part owner of the brigantine Cygnet’; she was in effect the managing owner of the ship.

The managing owner was the business manager of the enterprise. Each ship was an individual business, capable of earning profits or, in poor trading conditions, making a loss. Good business management could minimise losses and maximise profits, but, with up to thirty-two co-owners, decision making needed to be simplified. The master was certainly important, as his was the critical hands-on role. He could, however, only act on the orders of the shipowners. Someone was needed to make decisions and sign forms on behalf of the owners since regular consultation even in a small community was not practical.